Prime numbers are fundamental to the most common type of encryption used today: the RSA algorithm. The RSA algorithm was named after the three mathematicians who first publicly unveiled it in 1977.

In fact, they have applications to something as ubiquitous and mundane as making a purchase online. Every time you enter your credit card number on the Internet, prime numbers spring into action.

Today, people use complex computing networks to search for prime numbers with millions of digits. But early mathematicians were running these calculations by hand.

Prime numbers have captivated mathematicians for thousands of years—and now cloud computing is helping them chase the biggest ones yet.

UCLA mathematicians appear to have won a $100,000 prize from the Electronic Frontier Foundation for discovering a 13-million-digit prime number that has long been sought by computer users.

Prime Number Notes: This article presents well drafted notes on Prime Numbers which will help students clear their concepts of this prominent part of number theory. Download notes in PDF.

Fortunately, Édouard Lucas developed a prime number test in 1878, later proved by Derrick Henry Lehmer in 1930. Their work resulted in an efficient algorithm for evaluating potential Mersenne ...